Moving Packing Tips

Marathon Moving Company wants your move to go as smoothly as possible. If you have decided to pack your own belongings, we would like to offer the following packing tips to help ensure a safe arrival of all your possessions.

Use professional packing materials as these will save you time and ensure the safety of your goods.

Make certain all cartons are taped securely, top and bottom. Use carton sealing tape and not masking tape or duct tape.

Label all fragile boxes as fragile and stack them separately from your other cartons.

Label all cartons. Cartons should be labeled for contents and destination on two sides of a carton to make it easy for your movers to identify where each carton is to go.

Secure tightly the lids to any containers that contain liquids.

Leave clothes and light linens in bureau drawers. Your movers will be able to move your bureaus full. Any breakables such as perfume bottles or costume jewelry should be removed and packed into a carton.

Leave small file cabinets (2 drawers) as they can be moved full. Four drawer filing cabinets should have the bottom two drawers full. All lateral style cabinets must be completely emptied.

Empty desk drawers. Desks often need to be turned on their side to get through doorways and loose items may fall out and be lost.

Make a list of all items you will need for a few days prior to and immediately following your move. These items should be separated and labeled, DO NOT MOVE. These items should include: soap, towels, toothpaste, toilet paper, cereals, bowls, plates and utensils, cups, sheets, blankets, and immediately needed clothes.

Fill all cartons to the top as half-filled cartons tend to crush. Do not, however, overfill cartons as rounded top cartons are hard to stack.

Pack all items snugly into cartons using unprinted newspaper for fragile items. Use crushed paper to fill any gaps in cartons to prevent items from shifting.

Place a protective bumper at the bottom and top of cartons you pack with fragile items. To make a bumper, simply take three loose sheets of unprinted newspaper and roll them together. Three to four finished rolls should fit across the bottom or top of a carton.

Box all lampshades. They should be nested together in crushed paper. Silk lined lampshades should be packed one per carton. The silk lining will tear at the slightest touch.

Wrap paintings, glass and mirrors in paper pads and place in picture cartons. The picture carton should have a paper bumper on the bottom and on the top of the carton. Crushed paper should also be used to prevent shifting.

Do not pack aerosols, flammable items, combustibles, or explosives in cartons to be moved, as your mover is not allowed to carry these items. You should collect these items throughout your home, and place them in one carton clearly marked for your car.

Do not pack paint. A spilled can of paint can cause hundreds of dollars of damage to your other goods or the furniture area of the moving van. You would be responsible for damages if you have packed a can of paint that spills.